The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Tricyrtis hirta and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘Raspberry Mousse’. ‘Raspberry Mousse’ represents a new Japanese toad lily, an herbaceous perennial grown for landscape use.
The inventors discovered the new cultivar, ‘Raspberry Mousse’, as a naturally occurring branch sport of Tricyrtis hirta ‘Miyazaki’ (not patented) in a block of nursery stock nursery in Kensington, Conn. in September of 2002.
The new Toad Lily was selected as unique for its dark red-purple flowers. ‘Raspberry Mousse’ has similar characteristics to its parent, ‘Miyazaki’, in producing flowers that are borne in a thick column along the upper side of arching stems, however the tepals of ‘Miyazaki’ are white with purple spots whereas the tepals of ‘Raspberry Mousse’ are red with purple spots.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar was first accomplished by in vitro propagation in Kensington, Conn. in December of 1992 by the inventors. The characteristics of this cultivar have been determined to be stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.